Read 1, Get 2 Free
by Curlscat
Summary: The End or the World Challenge, The Unidentified Character Challenge, some Puckabrina Challenge, and now part of the iD challenge. It's darker than most of my fics, and WARNING there's character death. Sabrina and Puck are trying to make a life for themselves after the apocalypse, and they're doing great- until someone else barges in. EDITED.
1. Prologue

**AN~ This is three challenges: the End of the World Challenge, the Unidentified Character Challenge, and the Puckabrina challenge. **

**Disclaimer: You know this already.**

** Theme song this chapter: Disturbia by Rhianna.**

* * *

The world was on fire.

All over the news, warnings flashed: global temperatures rising, unsafe to leave home, fire hazard extreme, water shortages imminent. It happened so much faster than anyone expected. To deal with the climate change, scientists developed a surgery that would allow humans to adapt to the change in temperature and for some time, things looked as if they might be all right again.

That was before the experiments started to go wrong. The people who underwent the surgeries either became horribly sick and died, or forgot their humanity and became monsters.

In a small town called Ferryport Landing, all but two of the members of the Grimm household underwent this experimental surgery. Only one of them lived. She was the youngest, and she was now the most twisted.

In the end, only a handful of people survived the climate change. There were scattered towns around the oceans on other continents, where, as the temperatures were cooler, they had less need of the treatment, so less people got hurt; and, in the Americas, a very few widespread survivors.

The ones who lived managed to survive for a year on their own, mostly not knowing of each other's existence.

That was before the mutants got hungry.


	2. Scared

**AN~ I added another challenge to this, so now it really ought to be called Read 1, Get 3 free, but that doesn't sound as cool. Plus it's only part of the iD challenge.**

**The next few chapters might be a bit confusing. I'll get to the explanation in whatever chapter Remember is, so just bear with me.**

**Theme song this chapter: The Climb by Miley Cyrus**

* * *

Sabrina's life now meant she was always scared. Really, it was hard not to be, what with all the _monsters_ and everything. Well, they weren't technically monsters, more mutants, but who cared, really? And yet Puck never looked scared, ever. She'd asked him why, once. Why did he enjoy this new life so much? It wasn't natural! He'd told her that, for him, it was about the adventure. She'd stared at him and asked him whether he'd gotten enough adventure before the barrier collapsed. He'd laughed and told her that you could never have enough adventure.

It sort of hurt to remember that now, though. They'd had a big fight. A _huge_ one, actually. It was the kind of fight they hadn't let themselves have since the end of the world, as Sabrina was calling the onset of the virus and the climate change. They depended on each other too much to fight.

Not that that had stopped them this time.

She barely remembered what the fight was about. She didn't want to remember, and she had gotten good at blocking out memories she didn't like. The family's deaths... and one transformation into something that would be better off dead... the collapse of the barrier, and the total annihilation of the world as they knew it.

But she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't think about that.

So instead she thought about where she was, running scared, alone, in the middle of an abandoned city.

She'd like to see Puck do _this_ without getting scared.


	3. Lost

**AN~ Theme song this chapter: So What by Pink**

* * *

Sabrina was lost. She was lost and alone in the middle of nowhere.

Wonderful.

And Puck wasn't likely to come look for her. After all, she'd left him behind after their fight. Which meant that she was pretty much going to be permanently stranded.

So what, though?

She could find food, she'd gotten pretty good at that. And she could protect herself from the- not people, they weren't people anymore, they were less than human, they were monsters, or worse. She could find shelter fairly well. Heck, she might even find some other people.

She found that, by herself, she was somewhat more confident, sort of- freer, more alive. It was exhilarating.

* * *

The exhilaration had, for the most part, left by the time it got dark. The only shelter she'd found that would be safe was and old club, which she had bolted shut, and the food- well. She'd eaten better in the orphanage.

It continued that way for a week. She ate whatever she could get her hands on, and she avoided the dark. The mutants were getting closer, though. She knew they'd be on her soon. She so wished she wasn't alone.


	4. Found

**An~ This chapter setup isn't what I'd have picked, but I'm going with the titles I was given for the challenge, so some of them might be weird lengths (also they'll all be very short).**

**Blue-Eyed-Lily: I haven't read it since then, either.**

**Theme song this chapter: Please Don't Leave Me by Pink.**

* * *

Puck had spent a horrible week searching for Sabrina. At first, he'd just been mad at her, but when she didn't show up, he started remembering the times that they spent together, the good ones, and he realized just how much he'd miss her if she didn't come back.

He'd been awful to her, frankly. He regretted that now. And wanted to tell her how sorry he was. He also needed to tell her something else, the most important thing he could ever say to her. If he never found her, he wouldn't be able to stand it.

So he searched for her, everywhere she could possibly be, for a whole week. One horrible week of loneliness, worry, and hunger.

Then, one day, in a club on the outskirts of- Buffalo, he was pretty sure it was, he saw a light on. He followed the light, and experienced a moment of pure exhilaration at the sight of the silhouette in the room.

He'd found her.


	5. Loved

**AN~ This one's set to 1, 2, 3, 4, by The Plain White Ts.**

* * *

Sabrina couldn't believe it when Puck showed up in the club, especially when he apologized. Not that she didn't appreciate it or anything, but... Well, it just wasn't normal.

He flew her back to their camp, carrying her over the arid surface of New York, which now looked a lot like an old Arizona desert, and she fell asleep in his arms.

When she woke up to daylight streaming in through the thick walls of the tent, Puck was cooking eggs on a pan outside.

Sabrina blinked. "Eggs?"

"Yeah," Puck said. "When I was looking for you, I found this chicken, so we have eggs now."

"Well, that's good." Sabrina smiled slightly. "And when it dies, we can have chicken!"

Puck made a face. "Yeah, but that might be kind of hard to cook without a fire."

Sabrina shrugged. "Honestly, if we find a stick, it shouldn't take that long. Except that we might have a little trouble putting it out..."

"Exactly." Puck returned to the eggs.

They sat in an awkward silence for a while, when Puck cleard his throat. "Grimm?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Sabrina returned.

"When I was looking for you, I figured something out."

Sabrina waited. When he didn't say anything, she asked, "Well?"

"Iloveyou," Puck said in a rush.

Sabrina blinked and opened her mouth to speak, when Puck flew off, leaving Sabrina gaping silently.


	6. Remember

**AN~ Tayor Swift's Love Story for this chapter!**

* * *

As Puck flew away, Sabrina was suddenly flooded with the memories she'd blocked out to focus on living.

Defeating the Scarlet Hand and deciding to stay in town, partly to be with Puck.

Watching the news with Puck as reports on the sudden global warming played.

Skipping out on the shots because you couldn't get them if you had fairy magic in your veins, which she apparently did.

Seeing the rest of her family get violently ill, and Daphne eventually turn into something else, and being left alone with Puck.

Escaping the town for someplace cooler, with water that wasn't horribly polluted, and land that wasn't likely to burst into a sudden wildfire.

Finding a shelter near a small lake, in the shadow of some cliffs, within a day's fly of some nearby cities.

Building a shelter out of extremely thick tarp, and collecting as many supplies as possible.

Laughing and talking with Puck, blocking out the worst memories to keep from sinking into depression and being no use to anybody.

The fight, and the reason it had happened.

With the memories came the knowledge that she needed to talk to Puck, desperately.


	7. Unfortunate

**AN~ **** I just found out that I accidentally did the wrong word for chapter six, so now I'm doing that word. It fits better in this order, anyway. I now present: Unfortunate!**

**Theme song this chapter: Should've Said No by Taylor Swift.**

* * *

When Sabrina finally found Puck, he was sitting atop the cliffs surrounding their camp.

"Hey," she said. sitting beside him.

He glanced up, nodded once, and returned to staring at the scenery.

"I'm going to try and talk to you in some semblance if order," Sabrina said, blushing. "I... think I love you too, but I haven't lived nearly as long, so It'll take some time for me to figure out."

Puck looked up happily, and prepared to say something, but Sabrina plowed right on. "I'm mad at you, though."

"Why?" Puck asked.

"The same reason we fought before I ran off." Sabrina answered. "You _kissed_ Daphne. That's part of what made me figure out that I might feel the same way, how mad that made me. How could you _do_ that?"

Puck shrugged. "She was delirious, practically unconscious, and she asked me to. I thought she was dying. What if she_ had_ died? What if that had been her last request?"

Sabrina glared daggers at him. "But it wasn't. You kissed my sister. And we _know_ that Everafters were a higher percentage of the ones who lived. What if you're the reason she survived? What if you're the reason my sister is a monster?"

"I'm sorry," Puck muttered. "Does that help?"

"A little," Sabrina said. "It might help more if you showed it, and that you didn't ever_ like_ Daphne, for real."

Puck grinned. "Does this help?" he asked, leaned in, and kissed her.

It was a nice kiss, long, deep, and sweet. Sabrina would have complimented his kissing abilities, but it would have meant she'd have to stop kissing him, so she just enjoyed it. They were eventually drawn out of the kiss by a loud snarling noise that, while far of, sounded vaguely inhuman and _very _dangerous.

"Do we _have_ to stop?" Sabrina asked hazily.

Puck smirked. "I'll make fun of you later. But yeah, I want to check that noise out."

Sabrina made a face, but grabbed his hand as they flew over to the source of the problem, a deserty area with almost no cover, south of their shelter, where the cliffs flattened out. When they reached it, Sabrina hissed. "How are we going to get out it _this_ one?"

Puck shook his head. "This is bad. Really bad."


	8. Discovered

**AN~ ****Anybody notice that the Disney Faries books are pretty much just fanfiction for Peter Pan?**

**Theme song this chapter: I Caught Myself by Paramore.**

* * *

There was a boy down in the clear space, surrounded by the mutants.

Up until the last few months, it had been almost unheard of for one of the mutants to come near humans. They'd adapted to the arid temperatures, all right, adapted too well, to a point when they were barely more than desert animals themselves. But when they got hungry, like any meat-eating animal, they came for the nearest available food source. It just so happened that, right now, the nearest food source was a redheaded boy wearing all green, with a red feather in his hat.

A boy that looked strangely familiar, a reminder of Disney movies and a book written by J. M. Barrie.

But that could be thought about later. Right now they needed to get the mutants away from him.

"So what do we do?" Sabrina asked.

"I dunno," Puck said. "They must be starving though, he's just skin and bones!"

"That's it!" Sabrina shouted, drawing the attention of a few of the mutants.

"What?" Puck asked nervously, flying a little higher.

"Drop me out of their reach, but where they can still see me, upwind. I'm fatter than he is, so they'll take me over him. While I'm doing that, you grab him, come back, and pick me up!"

"I don't think so," Puck said flatly.

"Why not?" Sabrina pouted. "You _can_ carry two people, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Wo what's the problem?"

"It's putting you in danger."

"Not really. You're faster than they are. Now hurry, before they get him!"

Puck sighed, but flew upwind of the mutants, put Sabrina down, shouted, and flew up, out of their range. Sabrina, meanwhile, kept shouting, and even threw some rocks. Once she had their attention, she ran. Thankfully, the platelike gray skin of the mutants made it hard for them to run very fast, but they had stamina, and they were determined. She just hoped Puck could get her out of there before she got thirsty.

Puck waited until the last of the mutants was ten feet away before he grabbed the redhead and flew back to Sabrina, as fast as possible. He knew that it wasn't honestly necessary to worry about her, she was a good sprinter and the mutants weren't, but he loved her, as he'd finally admitted, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Ever.


	9. Help

**AN~ This chapter set to Crush Crush Crush by Paramore**

**12grimfan21: Chapter 7: They're 16, like it said in the challenge thingamabob. And the PuckxDaphne thing just sort of came out of nowhere because I can resolve it. ****Chapter 5: It wouldn't show my chapters on the site page. Or anyone's, did you notice? There were a bajillion updates today, because it' working.**

**RainbowofSmiles16: Chapter 5: Yeah, I get what you mean and I think it's fixed now. Chapter 2: They are AMAZING books! Except for all the loose ends.**

* * *

Sabrina would have been fine, if the stupid rock hadn't come along and got in the way of her foot. So there she was, trying to crawl along with a twisted ankle, waiting for either Puck to swoop down and save her, or the mutants to catch up and eat her. She wondered what being eaten would feel like. Would they eat her head first, so at least she would be dead and not in pain? Or would they start with her legs an work their way up? Maybe they'd start in the middle and move out...

She shook herself. She was being unneccisarily morbid. Puck would come. Still, he was taking an awfully long time.

When he finally did reach her, she estimated she was about five feet from being eaten. Ten minutes, at a stretch. "Took you long enough," she muttered, as he grabbed her outstretched arm and flew back up out of reach.

"You're welcome." Puck rolled his eyes. "Why'd you have to go and trip, you klutz?"

"It wasn't _my_ fault, it was the rock!"

"Which you'd have missed if you were looking where you were going, instead of at the people who were chasing you," Puck pointed out, flying for one particularly hardy patch of trees that had survived the desertification of the area. "We've been over this before."

"Sorry." Sabrina made a face. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"We've got to lose them, so I'm headed for the trees. After they're gone, we can go back to camp and take care of what's-his-face over there, and have a look at your foot."

"What's-his-face just moved," Sabrina pointed out. "Hey! What's your name?"

The boy moaned. "Huh?"

"I'm Sabrina, and this is Puck. We're going to help you," Sabrina said. "What's your name?"

"Peter," the boy muttered. "Peter Pan."


	10. Cry

**AN~ Gives You Hell by The All American Rejects for this chapter.**

**Lara D: ****I meant that there's this one challenge someone wrote and you take their 50 songs and write a chapter that's semi-inspired by them. So, yeah, you can listen to the song while you read, but you don't have to. I didn't even listen to a lot of the songs, because I just wanted to get on with writing, or I didn't like them.**

* * *

Puck had been shocked when he found out who the boy was. Peter? Seriously?

They'd been friends once. After all, how could he not be friends with one of the only other boys in the universe who was both as immature as he was, and able to stay the same age as him forever? But they'd gotten in a fight, and Puck had yelled, and Peter had cried. Cried! Boys weren't supposed to cry! Well, all right, Puck had cried after his dad died, but that was _it_. Nobody cried when their friend yelled at them!

Peter had tried to prove he was tough after that, but Puck was having none of it. He left and cut off the relationship forever. And, honestly, he hoped that whenever Peter saw him, it hurt. He hoped that he was sorry. After all, it was Peter's fault.

Here he was now, though, rescuing the boy he'd hated for over a century. _Sheltering_ him in his (and Sabrina's) house, just when he'd gotten around to making a move on Sabrina!

Oh well. Time to forgive and forget, he supposed.


	11. Questions

**AN~ Hot n' Cold by Katy Perry here!**

* * *

Once they finally got back to camp, Sabrina and Puck spent much more time than they would have liked on Peter: watching Peter, getting Peter drinks, trying to feed Peter, trying to keep Peter from falling asleep for long enough that they could ask him something...

It didn't work. He lay in the tent for a total of three boring, care-filled days during which, just when the two started to go off and do something fun, Peter would wake back up. Puck spent his spare time scouting, just in case the mutants had found their scent trail. It was unlikely- they were on an island after all, but you never knew, and when they got hungry, there was no stopping them. And he had seen signs of their presence way closer than he was comfortable with.

Finally, on the third day, Peter woke up.

They bombarded him with questions. Where had he been? Was there anyone else there? What the heck was he doing out here? What had happened to him? Was he still mad at Puck?

Peter took a deep breath, and answered them.


	12. Flashback

**AN~ Goodbye by Kristina DeBarge here.**

**And Lara D: I only updated one chapter there, I ran out of time.**

**Peter POV.**

* * *

I took a deep breath, and began my story. "I stayed in New York for a while after our fight, Puck. It was... cold."

_"Peter, what's wrong?"_

_"Go away, Wendy, I don't want to talk."_

_"You've been acting so far away. It's like you're a whole 'nother person."_

_"Maybe I am."_

"But I'd been staying with Wendy and Jane, you know that, and Jane started to talk to me, trying to get me to have fun again."

_"Peter? You want to play?"_

_"No."_

_"Please?"_

_"Hey! That's not fair. No Bambi eyes."_

_"But I want to play!"_

_"Fine."_

"We got along fine, for a while. But Jane had this friend... and we got really close. Jane didn't like that. But, well- we didn't listen."

_"We never do anything anymore, Peter."_

_"I know. And I'm sorry."_

_"So do you want to do something tonight?"_

_"I can't Jane. I'm really sorry, but I promised Cindy I'd go see a movie with her. You want to come?"_

_"No. Thanks, but no."_

"Cindy- wasn't what she said she was. By the time I found out, Jane and I had almost stopped talking, and Wendy kicked me out because I started acting like a total jerk."

_"Peter, let's go to the mall!"_

_"I'd rather not."_

_"But I just met this guy, he says he's got some great stuff, we'll have an awesome time!"_

_"I've got other plans, sorry."_

"One night, I just didn't come back. I was tired of Cindy's plans, and Cindy's life. But she followed me. I went back to Wendy and Jane, said goodbye, and left."

_"Jane?"_

_"Peter?!"_

_"I've got to go. Cindy won't leave me alone. I came to say goodbye, and... I'm sorry, for not listening to you, and for putting Cindy before you. You- well, you_ were_ my best friend, once."_

_"I still am, Peter, and I forgive you. Goodbye."_

_"Bye."_

"I wandered around after that, looking for some place to stay. It wasn't too long before the climate got messed up. They got the shots. Wendy got sick first."

_"Mom's sick, Peter. Really sick."_

_"I'm sorry. Should I come see her?"_

_"No. Cindy stopped by the other day. She's still looking for you."_

_"Tell her I love her, and I'd be there if I could."_

_"I will."_

"Jane caught it, too. I came back then. They were the luck ones, though. They died."

_"Jane?"_

_"I love you, Peter. I'm... sorry I didn't... tell you sooner."_

_"Jane? Jane? Jane!"_

"So I just sort of kept wandering around after that. I didn't care anymore, and I eventually ended up here. So now what?"


	13. Unhuman

**AN~ Haunted by Evanescence here!**

* * *

Sabrina kept having dreams about monsters. She'd thought she was getting better, but the mutants kept coming back to her dreams as soon as she thought they were gone. It was making her scared to go to sleep.

It wasn't really fair to anyone that this was all she could think about. After all, Peter had lost everyone he cared about, people he'd known for longer than she'd been alive, and he'd just almost _died_, but she wasn't worried about him, or Puck, who had saved her so many times, and who was the one who was keeping them alive now, when they couldn't leave the island because the mutants might be coming.

That was another thing that brought the dreams back. First she'd dreampt about them becaue she'd seen Daphne change, seen her turn into something less than human. It had been terrifying, to see the lack of recognition in her sister's eyes, the hunger that now filled her sweet little sister. But, more than that, it had been awful to know that this was something Sabrina couldn't save her from. After everything she'd done, she couldn't rescue Daphne the one time she needed it most.

After a while, the dreams had faded into a backdrop, then left entirely, replaced by the need to stay alive. She'd almost been able to think of it like a horror movie, not real life. Then the things got hungry, and they'd moved camp onto the island, and the dreams had gotten worse for a time. But she'd been better until she ran off. There were mutants in the ghost town. And then, following them and Peter's incident, she got no sleep. She knew something was coming.

And then it did. Puck shook her awake in the middle of the night and said: "They're here."


	14. Finally

**AN~ This one's to Paramore's Decode.**

* * *

Part of Puck was glad the mutants had finally found them. They could stop worrying about when they'd show up, stop wondering what would happen next, and just fight. True, it would be hard to kill them; they had incredibly thick skin and sharp teeth, but it wouldn't be impossible. He'd seen them rip each other to pieces before, and he knew how long one of the things could hold its breath. And elephant siting on one would be a good way to get rid of the problem. It would also help that the things were afraid of water. They could do it.

But he knew Sabrina didn't want to see them die, because she was afraid one of them was Daphne. And he knew she was terrified of them. He understood. Not having superpowers could do that to you.

Peter, too would present a problem. He could fight, Puck knew that, but he still hadn't recovered.

So it looked as if it was just him and the river doing the fighting.

Except... there were only three of the things, and they were just sitting there... And one of them looked oddly familiar.


	15. No

**AN~ Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas goes here!**

* * *

When Sabrina saw the three mutants standing out there, she was dumbfounded. "No," she whispered, almost crying.

"It is, isn't it?" Puck muttered, gazing in awe at the middle mutant.

"Who?" Peter asked, coming out of the tent, eyes still drowsy.

That was when Sabrina lost it, breaking into real tears in the first time since she could remember. Puck went to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and whispering soothing nothings.

"Daphne," Sabrina muttered. "It's Daphne."

"I repeat, who?" Peter said.

Puck looked up. "Her sister," he told Peter shortly.

"She's one of them?" Peter asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why is it important?" Puck snapped.

"Because there's a cure," Peter said simply. "They found it in New York. I though you knew."

"No," Puck said, shaking his head. "We didn't know."

"I think if we can catch her, I can keep her here while you two go get it." Peter offered.

"_YES_!" Sabrina shouted joyfully, wiping her eyes. "We _will_ get you better, Daphne!"


	16. Mutants

**AN~ Missing by Evanescence for this chapter.**

* * *

Catching Daphne the mutant was easier said than done.

They spent an incredibly long time chasing her around in circles, or tempting her with food, or trying and failing to sneak up on her. At one point, the action all sank into the background, and Sabrina and Daphne were left staring into each other's eyes.

It was amazing. Sabrina saw both an animal and her sister looking out of the twelve-year-old monster, and in those eyes, she could swear she saw loneliness and blame, blame for- abandonment, was it? Sabrina was pretty sure it was. She'd left her sister behind, and some days she hadn't even missed her. She'd almost forgotten about her, and she could swear, right then, that Daphne knew it.

Then the world picked up again, bursting back into action.

That split second had been enough for Puck to drop the spare tarp over Daphne's head, and, while she was struggling, wrap her up in the heaviest rope any of them could find. The other two mutants wouldn't go near the water, for some reason, and after seeing what had been done to Daphne, they backed off. One of them, though, seemed to hesitate before it left.

Puck and Sabrina then prepared to set off, grabbing enough food and water to make it to New York, and strapping on some extra weapons.

"You're sure you'll be all right here?" Puck asked Peter.

"I'll be fine," Peter assured him.

"Goodbye, Daphne," Sabrina whispered. "I'm sorry."


	17. Puck

**AN~ Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne goes here. You have no idea how hard it was to fit this song into this story.**

**RainbowofSmiles16: I missed you! Yeah, Jane sort of takes Wendy's place. I got that out of the book more than the movie. Also, I love St. Fang of Boredom! She's one of my favorite authors!**

* * *

When they reached New York, it was such a drastic change that Sabrina had a hard time accepting it as reality. Not only were there people, but there were people with grayish skin and lots of scars, people who looked like they had been mutants at one point, but weren't any longer. It wasn't New York like she remembered it, true, but still- _people_. It was so- alien to her now. She'd spent such a long time almost alone, it was insane. She wasn't sure she could deal with this much humanity.

Puck landed on a back street, and they headed for the same place most of the people they saw seemed to be heading, a shortish sort of fat building, trying to blend in.

It didn't work. Within five seconds, some girl was calling out to them, "_HEY_!"

Puck turned around. "You talking to us?"

"You new around here?" the girl said. "I don't recognize you."

"Yeah, We're new," Puck said.

"Whatcha here for?" the girl asked, sidling closer to Puck.

"We're looking for a cure to the shots," Puck replied, watching her get closer in a befuddled way.

"That's easy enough," the girl said. "I'll take you to it later. But there's a party today, why don't you come with me? You look like you could use some fun."

Sabrina blinked. Was this chick hitting on Puck? "_We _would love to come," she said, squeezing between Puck and the girl.

"Oh," the girl said, sounding disappointed. "You two like that, then?"

"Definitely." Sabrina grabbed Puck's hand and squeezed it, since he still looked completely clueless. "Shall we go?"

The girl nodded sullenly, glaring daggers at Sabrina's back as they walked in.


	18. Sabrina

**AN~ I kissed a girl by Katy Perry is the them song this chapter.  
**

* * *

The dance was fun, once Sabrina got used to all the people around her. She and Puck shared a few slow dances, and she was proud to say that they were one of the few couples who actually _danced_, instead of just sort of swaying to the music. The others also performed the same awkward bouncing that had been popular the _last_ time Sabrina had gone to a dance, which was kind of sad, considering how long ago that had been.

Then the girl- the one who'd been oozing her way closer to Puck earlier- showed up. "This is Marge, you two should get along _fabulously,_" she told Sabrina, with a look the other girl couldn't quite read.

Sabrina blinked at Marge. "Hi. I'm Sabrina."

Marge batted her eyelashes. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

Sabrina blinked. "Ummm... thanks?"

"You're welcome. How come you're not dancing?"

"I'm talking to you." Sabrina was beginning to get seriously weirded out by Marge. Maybe she hadn't spent much time recently around people, but she was pretty sure this wasn't normal behavior.

"Well, you should dance. I bet you're really good."

"Ahm..." Sabrina stalled, glancing around. There was that girl again, talking to Puck, who looked uncomfortable. "Excuse me, I have to go fix something," she exused herself and stalked over to Puck, ignoring Marge's question. "Hey, Puck, you want to dance?"

"I was just about to ask him!" The girl exclaimed. "What a coincidence!"

"Yeah..." Sabrina said dryly. "What's your name?"

"Cindy," the girl said.


	19. Ocean

**AN~ ****Set to Our Time Now by The Plain White Tees.**

* * *

Sabrina and Puck just stared at Cindy for a few seconds.

"Did you by any chance date a boy named Peter?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah... why?" Cindy said suspiciously.

"He's a friend of ours, and he mentioned you," Puck said. "Which reminds me, we kind of left him in the middle of something, and we need to get back to him, so could you maybe tell us the cure so we can leave?"

"No," Cindy snapped, storming off.

"What the-?" Puck said, staring after her.

Sabrina grabbed his arm and pulled him back the way they'd come. "Let her go. She's kind of a jerk, and there's plenty of other people we could ask-"

"Sabrina!" Marge called.

"Like Marge," Sabrina said, thinking gratefully of the convenience of that timing. "Hi."

"Hi! Who's this?" Marge asked.

"This is Puck, my boyfriend," Sabrina said, putting a little extra emphasis on that part. "Listen, could you do me a favor?"

"Oh..." Marge said, looking a little disappointed. "Sure, I guess. What?"

"We came here to find a cure for the mutants," Puck said. "Do you know where we could get it?"

"That's easy," Marge said. "It's the ocean. But she'll be messed up for a while after that, you know."

"I don't care," Sabrina said. "I just want my sister back."

Puck blinked a few times. "I can't believe it was that simple," he muttered. "Do you have a water bottle or something?"

Marge produced one from her purse, which Sabrina hadn't noticed before now. "Do you guys have someplace to stay tonight?"

"No," Sabrina said, realizing, suddenly, that she hadn't even thought of where they'd be staying in a city- she'd assumed it would be empty and she and Puck could just camp anywhere.

"Stay with me," Marge suggested. "I'll meet you outside the building around midnight." She walked back into the crowd without a real goodbye.

"Come on," Sabrina smiled, grabbing Puck's hand. "Let's spend some quality couple time."

Puck grinned and followed her, muttering "Finally."


	20. Back To Reality

**AN~ I'm not putting in all the fluffy nonsense because I feel that they deserve privacy. Besides, Sabrina will kill me if I write what she said; we both think it's WAY too out of character.**

**Theme song this chapter: Please Don't Stop the Music by Rhianna.**

* * *

The two spent an amazing evening on the beach and a pleasant, restful night in Marge's apartment, which was situated in one of the few major skyscrapers in the city that was still full of people. They were amazed to find out that the people of the city still had an economy, a working internet, and indoor pluming, which Sabrina thought was the most wonderful thing.

The next morning, after they said goodbye to Marge, laden down much heavier than they had been before, Sabrina sighed.

"What's up?" Puck asked.

"I just wish..." Sabrina trailed off. "I wish we didn't have to leave. It's been amazing here. People, plumbing, food... and I can spend time with you without worrying about monsters, 'cause, you know, it's an island and all, so there aren't any."

"Maybe we can come back, once Daphne's better," Puck suggested, hugging her.

"I'd like that." Marge smiled. "You guys are fun."

"Let's, then," Sabrina said. "If Peter's all right with it."

"Good, but first we've got to get back," Puck said. "Come on!"

"Bye!" Sabrina called as they flew off. "See you!"

"Goodbye!" Marge called back, waving.

The sound echoed long after she was out of sight, one last "Goodbye!"


	21. Daydream

**AN~ Imaginary by Evanescence is the theme this chapter.  
**

* * *

On the way back, Sabrina was silent.

"What's with you?" Puck asked.

"Just... thinking," Sabrina answered.

Puck looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. "What about?"

"Well, when I had downtime before, I used to daydream to keep from thinking about everything else, because life was too hard, with everyone dead except you and Daphne, and since Daphne was a monster and you were- well, you. I had this ridiculous make-believe world that I remembered from when I was five or so, and I sort of went back to it for an escape. I was saying goodbye to it, I guess. I don't think I'll need it anymore."

Puck grinned. "That's a good sign. I'm glad you don't need therapy or coping methods anymore."

"It's not that I don't need to cope!" Sabrina protested, "I just have better ways to do it now."

"And what are they?" Puck asked.

"Well, you;" Sabrina started, "Peter; being with real people again, even if it was just for a bit; the cure we're going to give Daphne; and training. They all help."

"People are that important to you?"

"I spent my formative years in New York City. I _love_ being around people. Being alone is just- creepy."

"But people drive you nuts."

"Just when I have to deal with them," Sabrina said. "When they're just there, or I can watch them, then I love people. Or if I care about them."

"Well, we're almost back to camp, so you're about to get one more of them back," Puck said, zooming down to the island.

Sabrina grinned. Here they came, Daphne.


	22. Medicine

**AN~ Evanesence's Farther Away is the theme here.  
**

* * *

Daphne still remembered what she was, sort of. It wasn't constant. She had flashes of clarity every so often, but it was so hard to remember how to be human. It was easier to just eat without thinking, be the monster she knew she was, instead of fighting her way to try to be someone she'd used to be.

When she was thinking clearly, she knew she was something to be ashamed of. She was acting like a weakling. What would Sabrina think? She was mad at Sabrina for not following her, not being there when she needed her, like she'd always been before, but she knew her sister would be disappointed in her for this.

But in those flashes of clarity, she realized that expecting Sabrina to be there for her all the time was selfish. Her sister had her own life. Usually, after she realized that again, things would start to get foggy again. Sometimes she wondered if it was because it hurt too much.

They'd caught her, and she'd let them. The person who stayed, the new one, he fed her, and she was happy, all in all. Then Sabrina and Puck came back, and they fed her something weird- gross. It was liquid, and it burned. She didn't need water, thank you very much.

But she started thinking clearly more and more, the more liquid they gave her, until, eventually, she was herself again. She was back with Sabrina, finally.


	23. Adventure

**AN~ Kings of Leon's Use Somebody is this chapter's theme.  
**

* * *

In the months since Daphne's cure, the other three had worked hard to help her return to normal. For the most part, she was herself again, but she still got depressed sometimes, and now and again she'd lose her humanity, and Sabrina could see the animal in her eyes. Her skin was also still hard and grayish, although that was fading slowly.

Funnily enough, Peter tried harder than either Sabrina or Puck to help Daphne when she was at her worst. Sabrina saw that and smiled to herself, remembering her first romance at twelve, too, and hoping for the best for her younger sister.

One day, at the beginning of winter, Sabrina called Puck over. "I think we should go out for the day," she told him.

"Why?" Puck asked. "I thought you didn't think Daphne was ready for that, that was why we didn't really bring up New York."

"She'll never be ready unless we give her a chance," Sabrina pointed out. "I think she's ready for this, and Peter will still be here. They'll be fine." She grinned. "Besides, we haven't had an adventure in way too long."

Puck smiled back. "So what do you suggest?"

"I suggest that we..." Sabrina glanced inside the tent. "Leave now- they're talking, and they don't look like they want to be interrupted."

"Then let's go find an adventure!"


	24. Clue

**AN~ ****This chapter's theme song: Pain by Three Day's Grace.**

* * *

Daphne looked up suddenly, in the middle of talking to Peter, and asked, "Have you seen Sabrina?"

Peter shook his head. "No... not since this morning. Why?"

"Because we haven't seen them since this morning. I guess we were having too good a time to notice they were gone."

Peter grinned, giving Daphne a hug. "We were having a pretty good time."

"Putting that aside..." Daphne said, pushing him away playfully. "I think we should look for them. Like, now."

"They're probably just fine," Peter said.

"Probably, but I'd rather worry and find out I'm wrong than just ignore it," Daphne said, getting up.

Peter followed. "What do you mean, you'd rather worry than ignore it?"

"Hey, Sabrina left a symbol-note thing!" Daphne said, changing the subject. "We used to use them when we were in the orphanage!" She didn't really want to talk about the way she'd rather have emotions than ignore them. It reminded her too much of what she used to be.

"Didn't you think of a better name than symbol-note?" Peter asked, following Daphne across the river and to the bluff.

"Nope," Daphne said. "It looks like they went south..."

They walked on some more, talking, until they came to a spot that looked as if a fight had taken place there. "Uh-oh," Daphne said.

"They probably were just having some fun," Peter said. "You know how they are."

"But there's other footprints coming from over there, and two sets less leave than arrived," Daphne pointed out. "I think they're in trouble."

Peter looked, his eyes widening. "Come on," he said, "We've got to find them."


	25. Are They Still Alive

**AN~ And now we listen to Over and Over, also by Three Day's Grace.**

* * *

After what seemed like hours of running, Daphne and Peter came to an abandoned warehouse, and Daphne would have gasped if she could breathe. Although she couldn't, Peter still saw the shock on her face.

"What- what is- it?" he asked.

"It's where I- lived, before," she said. "They're in the mutant's- lair."

"Oh no," Peter whispered.

Daphne looked at him, suddenly grateful that he was there. "Thanks for coming," she said.

Peter shrugged. "They're my friends, too."

"Just... just in case... something... happens... I love you." Daphne said suddenly, blushing.

Peter grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to look into his. "I love you, too. But nothing's going to happen. We'll find them, get them out, go back, and be fine. I promise."

"Don't," Daphne said, pulling away. "Never make a promise you can't keep." She walked off, peering through the grimy windows for any sign of her sister or Puck.

After several minutes of searching, Peter called Daphne over. "I found them," he whispered. "But it doesn't look good."


	26. Hilltop

**AN~ ****We're getting into the climax here, as Demi Lovato sings Lala land for background music.**

* * *

Daphne and Peter sat on a hilltop near the old factory, planning how to rescue Puck and Sabrina.

"I think we should barge in there and I'll pretend I came back," Daphne said.

"Why?" asked Peter.

"Because the leader and I were- close," Daphne said. "His choice, not mine, but when you're an animal, you don't think about saying no when your other choice is death."

Peter shuddered. "He what- he like-"

"Nothing SERIOUS," Daphne hurried to explain. "But even as one of them, I was my own person, and he liked that. So, we were an 'item,' I guess."

Peter sighed. "Well, since we've got no other plan, we'll go for it."

Daphne stood up. "Come on, we've got work to do."

"Let's stay here for a little while," Peter said, pulling her back down. "Just a few minutes. The pack's gone. Let's enjoy ourselves until they come back. Please?"

"All right," Daphne said. "Since we're about to head for sudden death, we may as well have some fun first."


	27. The Basement

**AN~ Tina Parol's Who's Got Your Money Now is this chapter's theme. Anyone else think this song is fun to sing along with?**

* * *

Sabrina was bored. Somehow, the fact that her overriding emotion was boredom, when she was imprisoned and probably about to be eaten, struck her as funny, and she started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Puck asked.

"I'm _bored_," Sabrina said.

"So?

"I'm about to be eaten, and I'm bored, not scared." Sabrina snorted. "I guess I've just been about to die so many times the thrill's worn off."

"I think you have issues," Puck said, staring at her.

"You would too, with my life," Sabrina said. "My parents disappear when I'm ten, I think they've abandoned me, I have to protect my sister from psychos for a year an a half, then I go to live with my dead grandma and find out everything my parents ever told me is a lie, and to top it all off, fairy tales are real. Then I have to fight off the evil fairy people, one of whom was one of my best friends, I almost die a bunch of times, and to top it off, I'm addicted to magic, turned into a goose, and poisoned by your jealous ex-girlfriend. I think I have an excuse to have issues."

"Yeah, well," Puck said. "You have more issues than you ought to, anyway. But I love you for it."

Sabrina smiled at him. "At least we're going out of it together."

"That's a bonus. Though honestly I'd rather never die at all..."

"Same here. I love you, too, by the way."


	28. Caught and Captured

**AN~ Womanizer by Brittany Spears is now playing.**

* * *

Daphne was scared to death. They'd gotten into the warehouse before the mutants got back, and now Peter was working on getting Puck and Sabrina out, but _she_ was sitting in the main hall, waiting for her ex-boyfriend and his horde of followers to find her.

She wasn't sure how they'd react. He might be glad to see her, but He might go into one of his rages. She hoped not. What she really hoped was that He didn't smell Peter on her and put two and two together. If He did, all Hell would break loose.

There they came, all the mutants coming through the door in a large cluster. He was in the front, and when He saw her, He stopped dead.

She stood up and went to Him, listening carefully for the whistle that meant Puck and Sabrina were out- safe. It didn't come. Instead, Peter ran into the room, skidding to a halt when he saw everyone else; came face to face with the people she'd lived with for the past two years.

He and Peter were staring at each other, hostility in their eyes, and Daphne knew what was going to happen a second before it did. He lunged at Peter, but Daphne was faster. She rammed him sideways and backwards, wishing her skin hadn't started to soften, wishing her muscles still ran off heat instead of water, wishing she could stand up to Him the way she used to be able to. But she couldn't, and then they were surrounded.

As Daphne and Peter were dragged past a window, she saw Sabrina, and she knew she was going to die.


	29. Goodbye

**AN~ Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On plays here.**

* * *

It was funny, Peter thought, that now, not half an hour later, he and Daphne were back in the same cell he'd just gotten Sabrina and Puck out of. Also, in a morbid sort of way, he thought it was funny that he'd just taken his best friend's place, and his girlfriend had taken her sister's. But morbid humor wasn't called for right now.

For some time, he and Daphne just sat there. They talked a bit about how 'He,' as Daphne referred to the leader of the mutants, was acting, and about what was probably going to happen to them, but for the most part they were silent. Words didn't seem appropriate, because they both knew they were about to die.

Until they heard the whisper at the window.

It was a very high-set window, one so far up the wall that no one could reach it unless they could fly. Which Puck, who was standing outside the window, could. The reason they hadn't simply gotten out that way before was that Puck would need someone outside the window to help him out once he got up there. Someone like Sabrina, who was also standing outside.

"We don't have much time," Sabrina called. "They're coming, but Puck can take one of you up at a time, and then I'll pull you out. Who's first?"

"Daphne." Peter said immediately. "She's more valuable to them."

Puck slipped through the window immediately and grabbed Daphne, pulling her up to Sabrina's waiting arms, moving quickly and silently. But the silence only allowed them to hear the footsteps coming down the hall, toward their door. Puck returned for Peter, moving faster now. He'd just picked him up when the door opened. He was there, and when He saw what was going on, He was enraged. He burst forward, grabbing for Peter, pulling him back.

"_GO!_" Peter shouted.

Puck had no choice. As more and more mutants poured into the cell, drawn by some unheard signal, he flew to the window and Sabrina yanked him out.

Daphne stared at Peter in horror, as he mouthed one final word at her:"Goodbye."


	30. Death

**AN~ I'm Broken by Amy Lee and Seether is not my favorite song, but it fits REALLY well here.**

* * *

Daphne had watched him die. She had to watch as the people she had used to be a part of, the people she still understood, and so couldn't blame, ripped the boy she loved to shreds and devoured him. After that, it got quiet.

She didn't notice anything for some time.

Sabrina and Puck must have taken care of her, because she was still alive, unfortunately, but whatever they did didn't register. She just sat there in a fog of horror, shock, and pain. Nothing mattered anymore.

It was weeks before she finally started to come back to reality. Reality hurt more than the fog. Sabrina had wanted to talk, at first, but then she saw Daphne's face, and she just sat there and hugged her, offering silent support. That helped more than Sabrina would ever realize, even if she was still broken.

She didn't know if she'd ever be all better.


	31. Epilogue

**AN~ All Around Me by Flyleaf plays at the after-party for this challenge!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers: Lara D, DarrenShanIsMine, iD Sisters Grimm iD, beanielover101, RainbowofSmiles16, 12grimmfan21, Grimmaholic **(^.^)**, TheSecretWeasely5147 **(^.^)**, Tangelnight, HoLlYwOoDbOuNd13, lol, DeDe, Hermione Grimm, :( **(despite your doubts)**, MoodyRuby277, Fixated-on-the-trickster-king, and**** Blue-Eyed-Lily.**

* * *

Once Daphne was able, the three moved to New York City. Marge helped them find their feet, and they spent the next several months learning to live in the city on their own. They had a three-bedroom apartment in Marge's building, which was thankfully far enough from Cindy to avoid issues. Sabrina set up a detective's office, and they got enough cases to squeak by, though nothing nearly as interesting as they'd gotten in Ferryport Landing, and, eventually, life started to settle into normalcy.

A few new people would trickle into the city occasionally, from Canada, the rest of the states, Mexico, and once, bizarrely, from Europe. Marge helped those people get settled in, and she opened up the majority of her building as a house for people with no place to go.

And Daphne got better. It was a slow process, and she doubted she'd ever be the person she once was, but she could talk again, walk again, be a human, help Sabrina and Puck with their cases. Her skin was mostly better, too. She still had a grayish tinge, but she wasn't a walking rock anymore.

Sabrina and Puck got married as soon as they were old enough, and adopted a sullen girl named Lindsay from the orphanage where Ms. Smirt still worked. Lindsay was shocked to discover that, however nasty she acted, Sabrina and Puck were always as nice as could be expected, and Sabrina even seemed to understand her, in a quiet, no-nonsense sort of way.

Daphne never married, or even had another boyfriend, but she did eventually move into her own apartment and adopt a baby boy. She and Sabrina continued to work as detectives, though she had a few other part-time jobs.

Sabrina and Puck went on to adopt several other troubled kids, and fostered some, too. They had a boy and a girl each of their own, named Peter and Natalie, who they loved very much and took great care of.

And, all in all, they lived as happily as can be expected for a long, long time.


End file.
